What Is The U.S. Environmental Policy Act?

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This legislation sets the tone for the core policy of the Environmental Protection Agency. The NEPA came about as an attempt by Congress to establish a coherent national policy that works, in cooperation with local governments and private concerns, to restore, maintain, and protect, important natural resources, and to strike a balance between environmental needs and the needs of an ever evolving technological world. The following quote from the EPA may provide a bit more clarity into this legislation:

The purposes of this Act are: to declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation; and to establish a Council on Environmental Quality.

You can find detailed information on this Act by writing to the EPA at

Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 2602090

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